1. #1

    SteelSeries World of Warcraft Legendary MMO Gaming Mouse - Pony's Review



    Before I purchased this mouse, I read a handful of reviews on it. After experiencing the item myself, I felt the reviews did not accurately reflect the mouse. Honestly, I thought they were placating the designers and easily amused by 'bells and whistles' instead of addressing the real concerns of these items to serious gamers. It is my intention to address the item with a more blunt and honest review. I will beproviding what others said in comparison to my own thoughts.

    Mouse Features
    • In-game setup for both Mac and PC
    • Bind all 11 buttons using the WoW interface
    • 16.8 million color options with four levels of intensity and pulsation (you only really need one color, though -- red)
    • Sleek design, comfortable buttons
    • Drag-and-drop software makes macro creation easy, or just drop in over 130 preset commands

    What's in the box
    • Mouse
    • Instructions
    • Quick-start guide
    • SteelSeries stickers for you to put wherever you like stickers

    About the Reviewer
    Mouse reviews are very much like fitted glove reviews, they come down to personal preference and hand size. Additionally, I am a power gamer and a power computer user - as I both work and game on PC's and Mac's. Such long hours, ranging from 6-14 hours a day, take a hefty toll on my digits while also allowing for 'marathon' reviews of mice and keyboards. As a result, I tend to avoid 'wireless' mice, as their weight from the added batteries ultimately results in wrist cramps when the darn things turn into a lead rock after about 8 hours of constant use. I prefer the lighter 'wired' mice.

    In a nutshell, I need peripherals that cause minimal wear and tear on my appendages during exceedingly long hours of use.

    What THEY said
    The other reviewers pointed out how the construction was sturdy. It has a familiarity to 'traditional mouse experience' but that it was a little big and had a 'flat palm' kind of design instead of a 'holding' design to the mouse. That it has a balanced weight without being too light or too heavy (like wireless mice often are). They liked the new thumb buttons but not the ring finger button on the right side. Buttons were easy to depress and acclimate yourself to, with that button 11 one exception. They indicated how colorful the mouse was and it's nice graphical design. How you could customize the lighting effect on it both in color and pulsing ability. And they praised the way it synch's up with World of Warcraft in the ease of customizing it's buttons. Oh, and they mentioned how you can make custom macro's for your buttons for in-game actions as well. (That was a big attraction to me, being a major macro whore that I am.)

    Breaking it down in bullet point form:
    • Score: 8/10; if you like the aesthetics, you won't be disappointed.
    • A little large, but my hands are pretty "medium," anyway.
    • Thumb buttons easily hit, especially the up/down rocker.
    • Sturdy design; hefty piece of equipment.
    • Colors! Lots of colors to set!
    • Still no idea how I can hit that 11th button, but you might have better luck.

    Now Here's What I Think
    I have been using mice since dial-up and still have no idea what they mean by 'traditional mouse experience'. Practically every year since the computer has been invented both IBM, Apple, and then later Microsoft and Logitek (as well as countless others at this point) have designed and released some of the most insane mouse designs. So what the crap are they are talking about? I really don't know. I have about 6-7 mice in my house right now, they ALL feel different. Maybe by 'traditional' they mean 'feels like you're holding a bar of soap'. I don't know honestly. I think they're making crap up to fill a review column and didn't know wtf else to say.

    Does this mouse deserve an 8/10 review? No it doesn't. I'll tell you why.

    Pros
    • The graphical design is pleasing to the eye. It looks cool. Why that matters is beyond me.
    • The way it interfaces and is setup both through the downloadable software or within World of Warcraft are great. It is truly nice to have your mouse speed and sensitivity the same both in and out of game, especially for for users like myself that use multiple monitors.
    • The weight is good. I don't believe in being 'too light' with mice. The lighter the better I say. This one isn't super light, but it isn't heavy enough that with extended play you'll be weary from the weight. It is 'comfortable'.

    Cons
    • Yes it feels nice... only for the first 30 seconds. Then you wanna go 'Office Space' on it.
    • It is nice that the box it comes in lets you 'hold' it through a plastic covering by opening up the box face that is held in place by magnets, but this doesn't really prepare you for what is to come. Both weight and actual feel when you move it with your hand.
    • The thumb buttons are terrible because they are too sensitive. When people move a mouse from left to right they tend to push the mouse from the side with their thumb as they do so. Well, if you do it with this mouse, you're clicking buttons that you didn't intend to click! Whoops!
    • Now here's where it gets ironic. The Mouse 1 and Mouse 2 buttons are duds. They need 2-3x's the force of the thumb buttons to be clicked. So you have to mash those ones to make em work, and boy it gets your two fingers tired after 5 hours of such.
    • But wait! There's more! They designed these additional buttons around the mouse wheel AND behind it. The side ones stick up and have hard edges instead of smooth ones. They stick up too high, so getting your finger over them to click the mouse wheel is very uncomfortable and starts to wear and tear on your fingers as you try and 'glide' over them. The one behind it is smooth, thank god, but it is 'in the way' of clicking the mouse wheel. No not scrolling the mouse wheel, when you wanna push that down for a click, you'll end up clicking 2 buttons at once by accident. Grrr!!
    • The 'flat' design of the mouse is horribly uncomfortable for extended duration. Who likes the 'pancake hand' feeling anyways? I'm clueless here. It's like they tried to go with an old Logitek mouse design, but screwed it up. It's too wide! As a result, you can't 'hold' the mouse, you simply rest your hand on top of it. If starts to feel like it was designed for people who didn't have fingers, who are just going to 'palm it' (let's call them 'palmers') but then why did they put buttons on it?
    • Seriously, hold your mouse right now, then extend all your fingers out completely, not the thumb, use that to hold the mouse as best you can WIHOUT using the end of your thumb, just the base. Now your hand has the feeling of what this mouse will feel like after 3 hours of use.
    • Obviously this thing was made for Bill Gates - ever held the Generation 1 Xbox controllers? Those things were MONSTROUS! Made for people with Pumpkinhead's physique.
    • If you have NBA all star hands and only game for 15-30 mins a day, this is your baby, otherwise, leave it on the wrack.
    • I don't even see how any women could find this thing comfortable.

    Clearly whoever tested this thing at Steelseries before they decided to make it a product line, only did it for 5 minutes. It is going back from whence it came. $80 dollar super mouse gets beat by a $9 dollar freebie Dell default mouse.

    Score 2/10
    (+2 for game interfacing and button configuration and look. -8 for failing on the fundamental essentials of a 'gaming mouse', and a 'mouse' for that matter. Research your consumer base hand size next time.)

    Final analysis
    Overpriced uncomfortable crap that gave me 'monkey paw hand' and a desire to swing it like a bolo as I smash it into a wall after half a day of use.

    NOTE TO DEVELOPERS
    If reviewers don't start using YOUR product in preference to what they have now, especially if they use freebie stuff, YOU'VE FAILED IN PRODUCT DESIGN!
    Last edited by Deathpony; 2021-09-17 at 08:05 PM.

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer Twoddle's Avatar
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    How is the middle mouse wheel? I've still got my steelseries WoW mouse but the scroll action of the wheel is not good, there's only a 50% chance that the scroll triggers for each notch of the wheel, not good for gaming and pain when scrolling bit by bit through webpages.

  3. #3
    Scarab Lord Azgraal's Avatar
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    Back when i was looking for a new gaming mouse (spring 2012) i was considering this mouse. The majority of reviews i read about it spoke wonders of it, but when it finally came the day to say byebye to my money, i tried it and it didn't feel right on my hand. Next to it was the Razer Naga. I tried it and the feel on my hand was completely different than the SteelSeries' one. I liked it so much that i bought it (i got the Molten Edition, the Epic version was a little bit too expensive for my wallet at that time) and i've never regreted it once since. Keep in mind that this mouse is my first Razer item, so this is not a case of fanboy-ism.

  4. #4
    I've been using the logitech mx518 mouse forever now. They re-brand it and name it different shit all the time but the design stays the same for the most part. The design is comfortable and has minimal thumb buttons that are comfortable to use and don't get in the way.

  5. #5
    G5mouse all the way,.
    4 buttons is plenty, and the sidescroll simply "works" perfectly.
    Good shape as well,. none of the newer mouses come even close to it.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Twoddle View Post
    How is the middle mouse wheel? I've still got my steelseries WoW mouse but the scroll action of the wheel is not good, there's only a 50% chance that the scroll triggers for each notch of the wheel, not good for gaming and pain when scrolling bit by bit through webpages.
    Similarly 'not good'. In addition, 50% of the time I pushed the mouse wheel depress option to 'click' it, it didn't fire. I had to mash it hard to get it to work.

    Quote Originally Posted by Zavri View Post
    I've been using the logitech mx518 mouse forever now. They re-brand it and name it different shit all the time but the design stays the same for the most part. The design is comfortable and has minimal thumb buttons that are comfortable to use and don't get in the way.
    I remember it back during the 'ball' days. That sucker has been around forever and for good reason.
    Last edited by Deathpony; 2013-01-07 at 09:45 PM.

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